She’s into it.

I just finished watching Warcraft again. I love this movie so much. Granted, there were some pretty scary moments. But the f/x were outstanding. It was like visiting a dream. An unsettling dream, set in a realm where I’ve spent a lot of time while isolating myself from this world. The scenery was beautiful, and I recognized the landscapes as well as the interiors of buildings, and cities that exist in the game. Before a site was identified on screen, I wanted to shout its name, out of the sheer joy of familiarity. I already loved the characters, but seeing them in live action solidified my obsession with Azeroth, and the ever expanding World of Warcraft.

I bought the Blu Ray with digital HD and DVD, because I’ll be watching the shit out of this movie. I can’t compare it to Star Wars, because this film was only the beginning, (I hope). It made me want to delve back into the novels, which have always helped me connect emotionally with the game. I haven’t been playing much of late, but I’m still thinking about it a lot. I’m mentally preparing myself to bring my main toon into the new expansion. I’ve raised up my night elf demon hunter to the max level of 110, and continue to complete quests and increase my skills, while exploring the new area. I do love to fly from the landing platform in Dalaran onto the floating island.

MMORPG’s are a lot more complex than non-gamers realize. Experience is probably the most valuable asset. There are lots of people, myself included, who have dedicated a decade of their lives to maintaining toons in Azeroth. Having another world where I have power and magic, and where my hyperfocus and obsessiveness pay off in easily measured ways, is awesome. I absolutely prefer Azeroth to Earth. Not because I think Azeroth is better than Earth, but because in Azeroth, I fit. In Azeroth, there’s a lot of killing, but death is more like an ice cream headache. You’re useless for a few moments, then you’re back. There’s a lot of killing on Earth too. But it’s forever, as far as we’re concerned.

During the dark times, (Cataclysm), I played Star Wars: The Old Republic. I liked it, but not nearly as much as Warcraft. It felt shallow to me. Like its creators were just doing their job, not sharing their passion. I don’t have time for that. Video games are not as good as books. If they don’t grab my imagination and delight, they get abandoned for novels. I’m disappointed that I won’t live long enough to read every book worth reading. That doesn’t mean I won’t try. This is why I’m always obsessing about Eyes 2.0. My originals are wearing out.

There are disturbing things about Azeroth. The fact that we’re constantly fighting an overwhelming foe can get frustrating. The introduction to changes we have no control over can be meltdown inducing if I don’t read about them in advance. Blizzard is good about informing in advance. I can only think of about about 4 times in the 9+ years I’ve been playing where I lost the plot over a bug, or hacking incident. That’s an incredible record when compared to reality. The fact that I spend time I could be reading doing things like playing Warcraft, or repeatedly watching the movie, is the highest compliment I can pay to the creators of both.

Whenever life on Earth starts kicking my ass, I retreat to Azeroth. Sometimes, it’s because I’m angry, but unwilling to direct my anger at anything alive. So I murder the shit out of some pixels. I tend to go solo after old raid bosses, and monsters that killed me over and over while I tried to figure out how to kill them. Sometimes, I just need to go fishing. It’s not something I would do outside, (indoor enthusiast), but it’s relaxing in the game. Back to Azeroth.